Grand Central Station

Busy busy busy. Where to start! The past few months have been a whirlwind and we seem to be extra busy at present. We have also had many visitors which has been lovely. Last month saw my grandparents visit in their caravan. They made the big trek into the west doing some sight seeing along the way and ending the last leg of their journey back toward the coast here with us. Grandad relived his droving days as a young man and impressed us all by riding a mare of ours. At nearly 80 years old he sat in the saddle and rode across the yard like it was yesterday. It was really special to see him on a horse alongside his great grandchildren. My Mum also visited, after 7 months of distance between us, the longest either of us have ever gone without seeing each other. It was a long warm embrace! The most recent visitors were Matt’s brother and family who were returning from their trip to the Territory. They were only able to stay one night but it was so nice to see all their familiar faces. On top of all the family visits have been two teams of fencing contractors, builders and other random workers. At present we have 3 builders and a young ringer staying here. It feels as busy as Grand central station at times.

The house renovations are definitely progressing, however there still seems so much to do. After 3 months full time in the van, I missed our old home for the first real time this week feeling completely overwhelmed by the mess and mud and work ahead of us and also completely people fatigued yearning for our own space. But I know it’s not forever and the finished product will be so worth it, it’s starting to take shape and it’s looking great.

The girls riding continues to impress me and today we reached a new milestone. I tacked the horses up for them and set them all up and they spent the whole day on and off their horses riding around the paddock on their own without me. They enjoyed the freedom and I watched with such pride as they rode around the fence line cantering and trotting as they pleased. They have really improved as riders and they have also improved their horses. They are embracing this lifestyle so well and are keen to be involved with everything that’s going on. Our boss is very accommodating and inclusive of the kids and he often taken them with him for little musters or yarding and loading of cattle, which is awesome.

The days and weeks seem to fly by, there is always something happening. We were flat out getting ready for the fencers, pulling out old fences, building assemblies and then putting up new fences. Matt’s been in charge of boxing up for concrete around the house, setting the cement and building the deck on the back. In between all those jobs we’ve had about 500 cattle go out, which requires mustering, drafting, loading etc plus all the ordinary cattle arriving on a regular basis. The most recent was a road train that arrived yesterday with 140 head on board. We are very happy to say we are building a little mob back up of our own. Since we have all agreed on a permanent role for us part of the deal allows us to run 40 head of our own here. Hopefully we can start turning out some $.

Hopefully over the coming months we will be able to move into the house and really settle in. I’m looking forward to making it feel like home!

Drop me a comment so I know you’re out there, and don’t forget to join the mailing list (check your junk folder 😏)